Singapore taking steps to promote Tamil: Minister

Coimbatore: Singapore has taken various
steps to promote Tamil, which enjoys official language status
there, a senior minister of that country said here today.

"The main challenge and aim of the Singapore government
is to ensure the better future of Tamil in the country...
Today, 60 per cent of students are from English-speaking
(Tamil) families. With the influence of English also high in
the Internet, it is our challenge and aim to ensure that Tamil
youths are well-versed with their mother tongue," Singapore
Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education
S Iswaran said at a Tamil Internet Conference here.

Changes have been brought in schools with teaching
methods designed to achieve this purpose. Efforts are on to
integrate Tamil in technology and Internet since the new
generation is tech-savvy, he said.

"For instance, the Education department has introduced
Tamil software in schools, allowing students to do Internet
operations. Besides being taught in schools, Tamil is also
used in public broadcast," Iswaran said.

Teachers are also integrating Tamil into technology and
adopting various innovative teaching methods to popularise
Tamil among the community members, he said.